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• ginger
  ginger

  noun

  a reedlike plant, Zingiber officinale, native to South Asia but now cultivated in many tropical countries, having a pungent, spicy rhizome used in cooking and medicine.
• Ginger
  Ginger

  noun

  a female given name, form of Virginia or Regina.

ginger

¹ American  

[jin-jer] / ˈdʒɪn dʒər /

noun

1. a reedlike plant, Zingiber officinale, native to South Asia but now cultivated in many tropical countries, having a pungent, spicy rhizome used in cooking and medicine.

2. any of various plants related to or similar to Zingiber officinale.

3. the rhizome of Zingiber officinale, ground, chopped, etc., and used as a flavoring.

4. Informal. piquancy; animation.

   There was plenty of ginger in their performance of the dance.

5. a yellowish or reddish brown.

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verb (used with object)

1. to treat or flavor with ginger, the spicy rhizome of the Zingiber officinale plant.

2. Informal. to impart piquancy or spirit to; enliven (usually followed byup ).

   to ginger up a talk with a few jokes.

adjective

1. flavored or made with ginger, the spicy rhizome of the Zingiber officinale plant.

Ginger ² American  

[jin-jer] / ˈdʒɪn dʒər /

noun

1. a female given name, form of Virginia or Regina.

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ginger British  

/ ˈdʒɪndʒə /

noun

1. any of several zingiberaceous plants of the genus Zingiber, esp Z. officinale of the East Indies, cultivated throughout the tropics for its spicy hot-tasting underground stem See also galangal Compare wild ginger

2. the underground stem of this plant, which is used fresh or powdered as a flavouring or crystallized as a sweetmeat

3. any of certain related plants

4. 1. a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      ginger hair

5. informal liveliness; vigour

6. informal a person with ginger hair

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verb

1. (tr) to add the spice ginger to (a dish)

Etymology

Origin of ginger

First recorded before 1000; Middle English ginger, gingivere from Old French gingivre, from Latin gingiber, for zingiberi from Greek zingíberis; replacing Old English gingiber from Latin, as above

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Explanation

Ginger is a plant with a thick root that's used to spice food. You can make homemade ginger ale using grated ginger. Ginger is an important spice all over the world, appearing in things like ginger beer, ginger bread, many Indian dishes, Chinese food, and ginger tea. Since ginger is native to South Asia, it's most commonly found in countries on that continent. Many people use ginger as a home remedy or medicine, as well as a food. In Britain, and increasingly in the US, it's common to describe red hair as ginger.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ginger Ginger

They’re also the foundation of my current obsession: hibachi-style carrot-ginger dressing, which becomes almost laughably easy when you use frozen ginger and onion cubes, too.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

King, who describes herself as “a dark-chocolate fanatic” as well as “a ginger fanatic,” helped steer their Dark & Stormy to nubs of dried ginger and toffee chips.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Nicknamed "The Viking" due to his hefty build and ginger beard, he resigned in 2007 and moved to Geneva, where his father Eduardo Sperisen-Yurt serves as Guatemala's ambassador to the World Trade Organization.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

Police described Noah as white, with curly ginger hair, and said he would not respond to his name being called.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

He let me use his mortar and pestle to ground up the cumin, coriander, and ginger.

From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani

Take Ginger Rogers, one-half of the iconic dancing duo composed of her and Fred Astaire.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

"The captain gathered us together to give us good news that our fishermen are coming back... they're alive, they're okay," Ginger Reyes, 35, the wife of the captain of one of the vessels, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Ginger and white cat Fruitcake slept on top of my sleeping bag, with my legs tucked inside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

“Don’t fix something that isn’t broken,” said Ginger Wallis, 50 years old, who lives at the base of a hill covered in flammable grass, her eyes flashing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Ginger was still wearing her regular collar and dog tags.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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